by Delia Latham
“This is Ibbie. She’s my bestest friend.”
“Hi there, Ibbie! You have a very nice best friend.”
Eva Kate giggled. “She likes you too. Where’s Auntie Ky?”
“Right here.” Ky pushed her door open. “You woke me up, Katykins!”
Eva Kate’s big eyes brightened, and she hurtled forward, intent on reaching Kylie. Dayna caught her daughter before she’d taken three steps. “Whoa, slow down, child! Auntie Ky has owies, remember? You have to be gentle.”
“I will, I will. Let me hug her!” The little girl squirmed out of her mother’s grasp and crossed the room with a little less gusto. She wrapped her arms around Kylie’s waist and leaned her head against her legs. “I missed-ed you, Auntie Ky! Are you all better now?”
“Much better.” Kylie stroked the little girl’s hair and blinked back tears. “I see you brought Ibbie to see me.”
“Yep, I did. Ibbie missed-ed you too.”
“That’s very sweet.” She looked up to find Dayna in tears. “What? Why does everyone cry when they see me? Do I look that bad?”
Dayna laughed and swiped at her eyes. “You look good, girlfriend—that’s just it. When I think how things might have turned out…” She choked and waved a hand as if dismissing the subject.
“Well, they didn’t. I’m fine, so I’d really love to see a little less waterworks.”
“Glad to see you haven’t lost your fire.” Dayna crossed the room and gave Kylie a gentle hug.
“Never.”
She looked up to see Shay fishing a set of keys out of her purse. “Where are you going?”
“I have some things I need to take care of out at the ranch. Do you mind if I sneak off for a few minutes while Dayna’s here?”
“No, of course not.”
“You’re going out to Looking Glass Ranch?” Dayna squealed. “You’re so lucky. I’d love to see that place.”
“Really?” Shay shrugged. “Why don’t you come with me? All of you.”
“I don’t think—” Kylie hurried to decline the invitation, but Dayna interrupted.
“Are you kidding? Really? I’d love to!” She broke off. “Ky, do you feel up to it?”
“Come on, you need to get out of the house,” Shay said, smiling at Dayna’s enthusiasm. “We don’t have to stay long.”
“I don’t know.” Kylie had no desire to run into Rick. His absence made it clear he didn’t want to see her. “Maybe Rick’s busy. He might not want a bunch of gawkers out there.”
“Rick isn’t there today. He had to make a trip into Sacramento for some supplies.” She grinned at Eva Kate. “But his little girl is there, and I know she’d love to meet Eva Kate. Lea doesn’t often get to play with other children.”
“A friend? I want to go, Mommy!”
“Well…” Kylie wanted nothing more than to keep hiding for a while, but Dayna and Eva Kate looked so excited. If Rick wasn’t there, it wouldn’t hurt to ride along. She had to admit the walls of her apartment were becoming a little depressing.
“Come on, Ky. It’ll be fun!”
“OK.” She’d showered earlier in the day, and shampooed her hair, so getting ready wouldn’t take a lot of effort. “Do I have time to change clothes?”
“Sure, there’s no hurry.” Shay dropped her purse and keys on the dining table and crossed to Kylie’s side. “I’ll help you.”
Twenty minutes later, they were on their way. Kylie wore a comfortable outfit that didn’t pinch or irritate her healing bruises. Shay had used a large barrette of some kind to pull her hair back in a simple, but surprisingly attractive style.
With the decision made to go, Kylie discovered that being out in the sunshine felt good. She relaxed against the car seat, listening as Shay and Dayna explained Lea’s burn scars to Eva Kate.
“Lea’s very pretty,” Shay said. “But one side of her face looks kind of rough, sweetie. You won’t be scared, will you?”
Eva Kate frowned. “I ain’t no scaredy-cat!”
“Eva Kate Patton!” Dayna’s full lips tightened. “You’re ‘not’ a scaredy-cat.”
“That’s what I said, Mommy.” The child frowned. “Why should I be afraid to meet a friend?”
“Well, Lea’s face, honey.” Shay hesitated, obviously searching for the right words. “Some people aren’t very nice to her because…well, I think her owies scare them a little bit.”
“I won’t be scared.” The child shook her head, bouncing her springy black curls. “And I won’t be mean. I like her.”
Dayna laughed. “You don’t even know her yet.”
“But I like her. She’s going to be my bestest friend.”
The women laughed. Even Kylie couldn’t help a quiet chuckle.
“OK, then. Lea will be so happy to have someone to play with. I think she’s pretty lonely most of the time.”
Eva Kate stroked Ibbie’s hair. “Not any more, huh, Ibbie?”
Kylie hoped the meeting between the children went as well as Eva Kate thought it would. She wasn’t ready to meet Lea, not just yet. She’d managed to look at her own face without an episode, but could she do the same with scars like Lea’s? Until she was sure, she couldn’t meet Rick’s daughter. The last thing she wanted was to hurt the child by reacting to her disfigurement.
“Here we are.” Shay turned into the long driveway at the ranch, and Kylie’s stomach tightened. “See that big house, Eva Kate? That’s where Lea lives.”
Kylie's Kiss
22
Kylie studied the attractive, ranch style home. It spread out over a large, well-manicured lawn. Judging by the various wings that jutted in different directions off the center of the home, she thought it safe to assume they’d all been added at different times. Someone had taken great pains to make those changes tastefully, which wasn’t always the case when improvements were made in piecemeal fashion.
A huge expanse of lush, green grass surrounded the house. Numerous trees—big, old oaks and tall stately eucalyptus, along with a few graceful elms—provided shade and lent a welcoming air to the property. Flowerbeds, bright with various blooms of a dozen different colors, lined the walkways.
The manor at Looking Glass Ranch. It looked impressive, and yet comfortable, just as she had expected. A place where generations of family could live, love, grow, and be happy.
As the car drew nearer to the homestead, a hive of activity revealed itself off to the east and down a slight incline. Several buildings in different stages of completion buzzed with workers going in and out with the tools of their trade. A couple of men hefted sheets of drywall through one door, while other laborers sprayed white paint onto the finished exterior of another structure.
“What’s going on down there?” Dayna asked, straining to see further into the chaotic scene.
“They’re working on the complex where the girls and staff will stay.” Pride and excitement shone in Shay’s eyes. “I’ll show you through it, if you’d like. That’s where I’m headed. My little corner is complete, so I’ve been busy stocking it with cosmetics and other tools I’ll be using to help our guests feel good about themselves.”
They stopped outside the big house and Shay turned off the ignition. “Come on, let’s go in. This is where Lea lives, Eva Kate. You ready?”
The little girl bounced in her car seat, eager to get out and meet a new friend.
“I’m going to wait here.” Kylie managed a weak smile. “I’m still a little shaky, you know? That’s the longest sidewalk I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Dayna’s dark eyes flashed. “Shay and I will carry you up there if we have to, but you are going with us, Kylie Matthews!”
She sent a look of pure desperation to her sister. “But Lea…what if I can’t—”
Shay stepped close and squeezed her hand. “You’ll be fine, Ky. You’re stronger than you think.”
“But I don’t want to hurt her!” Kylie whispered. “She’s been through enough.”
“You
won’t. Lea’s a special little girl. You’ll see.” She linked an arm through Kylie’s. “Come on, sis. You can do this.”
Eva Kate, who had no idea what was going on, slid in between the sisters and grabbed Kylie’s hand. “Don’t you want to meet my new friend, Auntie Ky?”
“Of course I do, sweetie.” She squeezed the little girl’s tiny fingers and managed a half-hearted smile for Dayna and Shay. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s do this!”
Shay used the old-fashioned knocker to announce their arrival. Kylie waited in an agony of dread. What if Rick hadn’t gone to Sacramento, after all? What if Lea opened the door, and what if Kylie’s reaction wasn’t as positive as she hoped? What if Rick opened the door, and what if she saw pity—or disgust—on his face?
A click of the lock froze her jumbled thoughts, and the door opened inward to reveal a short, pleasantly round Hispanic woman. Shiny black hair, arranged in an attractive chignon at her neck, framed a face that glowed with joy. Eyes almost as dark as her hair disappeared when she smiled—which she did when she spotted Shay waiting outside.
“Ah, Mees Chay! It is nice you come. And you bring veesitors, yes? Come in—everybody, come in, come in!”
Shay kissed the woman’s smooth cheek. “Thank you, Trina.” She helped Kylie up the two steps and into a spacious entry. “This is my sister, Kylie.” She smiled and nodded toward Dayna, who grinned like a kid at Disneyland. “The happy one is Dayna, and the little munchkin hiding behind her is Eva Kate. She’s here to play with Lea.”
“Ooooh!” Trina squealed. “You bring amiga for mi niña! Oh, Mees Chay, she will be so happy!”
Shay smiled, then grasped Kylie’s hand and tugged her further into the room. “Ladies, this is Catarina—although, I’ve yet to hear anyone use that name. We all call her Trina.” She smiled at the housekeeper, whose rough red hands were tangled in her apron. “She takes care of things around here for Rick and Lea, and makes everyone else feel at home, as well.”
Kylie experienced a sharp stab of pure jealousy. Her sister’s familiarity with Rick’s home accentuated her own lack of it. How could she have expected any kind of relationship with Rick? She couldn’t face his child, and had never been inside his home.
Shay nudged her, and heat flooded her cheeks. “I’m—I’m very happy to meet you, Trina,” she stuttered.
“Me too,” Dayna spoke up. “Thank you for letting us barge in on you like this.”
“Oh, is no problema.” Trina dropped her apron and spread her hands in an expansive gesture. “Leetle Lea—she ees…tan solo, you know.” Grabbing her apron again, she dabbed at her eyes with one corner of the fabric, then opened her arms to Eva Kate. “Come, leetle one. Give Trina beeg hug.”
To Kylie’s surprise—and Dayna’s, judging by the way her chin dropped—Eva Kate did just that. With a huge grin, she relinquished her hiding place behind Dayna’s legs, marched the three steps to where Trina knelt with her arms outstretched, and walked right into them.
“Oh, Mees Eva Kay-tey, tan bonita—so pretty, you are!” The woman stroked Eva Kate’s hair, peering over her head toward the women. “You tell her about mi niña, yes? She knows…?”
Eva Kate nodded in answer. “I know my new friend has an owie.” She held Ibbie up for Trina’s inspection. “This is Ibbie. We want to play with her now, OK? We’ll make her feel all better, you’ll see!”
“Si, niña dulce. Si! Un minuto, por favor.” In her excitement, Trina produced not a single syllable in English. She jumped up, patted Eva Kate’s curls, and hurried away, then swung around in pure horror. “Oh, forgeeve me! I am forgetting…please be sit down now, si?” Her desperate gaze went to Shay. “Mees Chay…?”
“It’s OK, Trina. I know the way.”
With a grateful smile, the housekeeper disappeared down the hall, calling for Lea. Shay ushered them all into a large living room decorated in an attractive, comfortable style with a French country flair. Kylie couldn’t help wondering who provided the feminine touches in the homey space.
The women seated themselves, and Eva Kate hugged her doll and kissed its rag face. “I like Trina, Ibbie. Don’t you? But what did she say?”
“I wondered that myself, Evie.” Kylie shrugged and sent Shay a questioning gaze. “Do you know?”
Shay shook her head, but Dayna grinned. “Allow me, girlfriends. Miss Trina said, ‘Yes, sweet child. Yes!’ Then she said, ‘One minute, please,’ and took off like something was on fire.”
“How did you know that?” Kylie gaped at her friend. She’d never heard Dayna speak a word of Spanish.
Dayna gave her a saucy little head toss, but before she could say anything, Trina hurried back into the room, tugging behind her a little girl whose beauty stole Kylie’s breath away.
Rick’s photo hadn’t done his daughter justice. Lea’s hair hung past her waist in a smooth, silky curtain of blonde interwoven with sunshine. She smiled, and lifted eyes the color of a robin’s egg to meet Kylie’s stunned gaze.
Behind Lea, Trina’s lips and hands moved. She pointed first at Dayna, then Eva Kate, and finally Kylie. Making introductions, of course, but Kylie didn’t hear a word. She heard only the loud purring of her melting heart as she gazed at the face of the beautiful child who surely must be some kind of angel.
As if no one else existed in the room, Lea walked—floated—across the room toward her. Without a second’s thought, Kylie slid off the sofa to kneel on the floor. The little girl stood in front of her, studying her face.
“Kylie. You’re here. He said you’d come.”
“Who said that? Your daddy?”
“No. Daddy only said you made him sad.” Lea tucked Kylie’s hair behind one ear and brought her lips close to it. “Solomon told me,” she whispered.
Kylie opened her mouth, but couldn’t make a sound, so she nodded. Her eyes burned, and she was horrified when tears overflowed them and raced down her cheeks. Lea reached out and caught one as it dropped from Kylie’s eyelash. She brought the wet finger to her own lips and kissed it.
“I love you, Kylie.” Her sweet voice wound a melodic path straight into Kylie’s heart. Did she reach for Lea, or did the child reach for her? She didn’t know, but the little girl’s arms wrapped themselves around her neck and Kylie pulled the tiny body against her chest and hugged her.
“I love you too, Lea.”
While the other women watched in shock and wonder, the child kissed Kylie’s wet cheek, then took a tiny step backward. She lifted Kylie’s hand and placed it on her own scarred and ruined face. “See? It’s nothing really, just a memory from the fire.”
Kylie stroked the tight, puckered skin, but under her trembling fingers, it felt smooth and soft and beautiful. “Yes, I see that,” she murmured.
“I—I want to touch your scar too. OK?”
She took the little girl’s hand and guided it to her eyebrow. But Lea shook her head, and her smile sealed Kylie’s fate. Her heart would forever belong to this angel child.
“No, not that. That’s just a sore spot. It doesn’t matter.” She laid her hand on Kylie’s chest and raised those beautiful eyes to meet Kylie’s teary gaze. “I meant this scar. It hurts the most, doesn’t it?”
Kylie choked back a sob, suddenly sure this was all a dream.
“Don’t cry anymore. We’ll make it all better together. Won’t we?”
“Yes,” Kylie whispered. “We will.” She cupped Lea’s face in both her hands. “We’ll fix each other’s scars together.”
Lea nodded, then turned to her other guests. The spell broke, and Kylie found that she had the strength to lift herself off the floor and back onto the sofa, though her legs trembled as if she’d walked a mile uphill.
“I came to play with you!” Eva Kate announced. How had she waited through that surreal scene without exploding? “I’m Eva Kate.”
Lea clapped her hands. “I’ve been waiting for you. I knew you’d come!” She nodded toward Ibbie. “Who’s that?”
“Thi
s is Ibbie. She’s your friend too.”
“Two friends!” Lea’s eyes shone. “Want to play in my room?”
Eva Kate bounced her head up and down.
“Let’s go!” The child grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding Ibbie and dashed off down the hall with Eva Kate in tow. Kylie was struck by the beauty of the scene—the angel child with sunshine in her hair and skin like porcelain, and the sweet, dark-skinned Eva Kate, with her black hair in corn-rows—hand in hand and side by side, excited and joyful to have found each other.
Three stunned gazes turned themselves on Kylie. Three pair of wide, teary eyes asked a hundred questions, but only Shay spoke.
“Um, Kylie…what—?” She shook her head and sniffled. “What was that?”
Another bout of tears made Kylie’s attempt at laughter sound more like a sob. Trina handed her a tissue, took one for herself, and passed the box to Dayna. She mopped at her shiny face and tossed the box across the coffee table to Shay.
Kylie cleared her throat. She smiled, and her heart, scarred though it might be, basked in the warmth of it. “That, my darling sister, was a miracle!”
Kylie's Kiss
23
“Are you sure you can handle the walk?”
Shay didn’t seem at all convinced Kylie’s strength would take her down the sloping lawn and through the chaos of construction taking place in the complex.
“Of course I can.” She couldn’t explain her sudden desire to know everything about what was taking shape out here on Rick’s ranch. Was it ridiculous to think that brief encounter with Lea had infused her with a zest for life, and a longing to be involved—to stop hiding and start living?
“OK, then.” Shay sent Trina an inquisitive look. “Are you sure you’re all right with both of the girls?”
“Oh, si, si!” The housekeeper’s hand covered her heart. “It ees…tan bueno…to see mi niña play with other children. You go. Go!” She fluttered her hands toward the door. “The leetle ones are fine here.”